Paraphrase

Paraphrase, in music, the appropriation of a phrase, melody, section, or entire piece for use in another, favoured especially during the Renaissance for masses and motets as well as for keyboard works. The original melody is not generally used as it appeared in its original context but rather is altered by interpolating new notes, by changing the rhythm or the melodic contour, or by condensing or elaborating melodic passages. A paraphrased melody may appear in one voice part of the new composition, as in the motet Alma redemptoris mater (Beloved Mother of the Redeemer) by Guillaume Dufay, or in all voice parts through the technique of melodic imitation, as in the Missa pange lingua (mass on the plainsonghymn “Pange lingua” [“Sing, My Tongue”]) by Josquin des Prez.

In 19th-century music, the term acquired slightly different connotations, when piano and other virtuosos engaged in elaborate paraphrases of operas as well as of each other’s works.

Learn More in these related articles:

painting, sculpture, architecture, music, and literature produced during the 14th, 15th, and 16th centuries in Europe under the combined influences of an increased awareness of nature, a revival of classical learning, and a more individualistic view of man. Scholars no longer believe that the...

in music, the setting, either polyphonic or in plainchant, of the liturgy of the Eucharist. The term most commonly refers to the mass of the Roman Catholic church, whose Western traditions used texts in Latin from about the 4th century to 1966, when the use of the vernacular was mandated. The...

(French mot: “word”), style of vocal composition that has undergone numerous transformations through many centuries. Typically, it is a Latin religious choral composition, yet it can be a secular composition or a work for soloist(s) and instrumental accompaniment, in any language,...